The missions of the Children's Cancer Research Center include: (1) the better understanding of the cancers of childhood and their frequency, (2) the devising of new and better methods for diagnosis and treatment, (3) the definition and mitigation of the acute and late adversities of therapy, (4) the transmission of information relevant to pediatric oncology to community health services, (5) the training of specialists, and (6) the development of methods and mechanisms to provide emotional and material support to patients and their families. Integrated clinical and laboratory investigations to accomplish these goals include studies in immunology; membrane and molecular biology; genetics related to leukemia and neuroblastoma; clinical pharmacology and radiopharmacology. Clinical trials of the leukemias and solid tumors now include bone marrow transplantation capability. The training of specialists continues. Community-based programs encompass educational efforts and international pediatric tumor registries are based at the Center and are a resource for epidemiology studies.